Chapter 45

Unaware of when Lin Shuicheng had awakened, Fu Luoyin maintained his upright posture, supporting him close by without feeling overly exhausted.

The hospital corridor was dimly lit, akin to the fading light of dusk that filtered in.

When Lin Shuicheng opened his eyes, he still felt a throbbing pain at the back of his head, and everything before him was blurry. He could only make out the person beside him lowering their phone, its brightness painfully glaring.

A light mint fragrance clung to his jacket, draped casually over his shoulders.

Fu Luoyin was engrossed in playing Landlord Poker, his head bowed, completely oblivious to the fact that he had awoken.

In the new round of dealing, Fu Luoyin earnestly clicked "Grab the Landlord," only to be unexpectedly interrupted by several new messages in his chat window.

They were all from Dong Shuoye.

Fu Luoyin entrusted the game to auto-play and switched to the chat interface to find that Dong Shuoye had sent him some pictures. There were images taken in crowds – some at an airport, others at a dinner table – with Xia Ran sitting right in the center, smiling into the camera as if he was grinning directly at Fu Luoyin through the screen.

A familiar ache began to resurface in Fu Luoyin's stomach.

He tapped to zoom in on the pictures and studied them closely.

After all these years, it was impossible to say that he had never heard a whisper about Xia Ran. However, he had always subconsciously avoided mentioning him. He knew that Xia Ran had studied at the former North American branch, that he had joined a band and designed posters, spending his leisure time playing and his busy times sketching. He remained the same naive and willful young master as ten years ago.

Xia Ran had grown even more since high school, and his style had matured slightly. Compared to his previous innocence and liveliness, the current Xia Ran exuded a more refined attractiveness, with a subtle shift in his overall demeanor.

It was as if, with just one glance, the person on the other side had grown up.

Fu Luoyin's breathing grew heavy. After studying the image for a while, he clicked to delete the chat history.

One by one, the images vanished as if they had never existed.

In the past, he would collect every photo of Xia Ran with great care, and Xia Ran would laugh at him for it.

Everything related to Xia Ran was once locked away by Fu Luoyin in a box, like Christmas candies saved one by one, stored in vacuum-sealed containers until they melted in the summer heat; the customized practice books he compiled based on Xia Ran's weaknesses, which Xia Ran himself had forgotten about, were carefully kept by Fu Luoyin.

He had once been an innocent creature, akin to a naive beast, who stumbled upon a rare spark of wildfire in the barren wilderness, desiring to cherish even the slightest ember. Not to plunder, but to approach quietly.

After deleting the messages, he remained in a daze for a moment before switching back to the Dou Dizhu game, only to find that the system had already dealt him a losing hand.

Then, he noticed Lin Shuicheng stirring, realizing that the person beside him had already opened their eyes. Lin Shuicheng leaned against him, his thick, dark eyelashes drooping as they also fell upon Fu Luoyin's phone screen.

Fu Luoyin instinctively turned off the screen. "When did you wake up?"

There was a subtle coldness in his tone, along with a hint of unease that he himself hadn't noticed—had Lin Shuicheng seen Xia Ran's photo?

Lin Shuicheng mumbled, "Just woke up. I was watching you play Dominator."

Awakening from his slumber, he felt the chill. He remained in that position, curling up close to him.

It was as if Lin Shuicheng had just awoken from a dream. He lifted his head slightly and gazed at him in silence before softly saying, "You're here."

That voice held boundless tenderness and affection, tinged with a hint of melancholy.

Fu Luoyin paused. "I came over when I saw you didn't answer the phone. Why aren't you sleeping at home?"

Lin Shuicheng replied, "I accidentally fell asleep." He noticed the religious storybook on Fu Luoyin's lap and gently took it back, closing the pages before returning it to the magazine rack.

Fu Luoyin observed as Lin Shuicheng turned to look at him.

With such obedience and tranquility, he gazed at him as if he couldn't get enough of his presence. Sparkling fragments of stars shimmered in his eyes, reflecting the image of Fu Luoyin within them.

Fu Luoyin was all too familiar with the way Lin Shuicheng looked at him. No matter the time or place, whether it was during meals, meetings, in the middle of the night or broad daylight, and even occasionally during intimate moments, Lin Shuicheng would suddenly become lost in thought, gazing at him quietly with a dazed expression that was endearingly adorable.

He couldn't resist the urge to kiss him, but this time, Lin Shuicheng dodged away, lowering his head and smiling softly as he whispered, "Let's go back. We're still at the hospital."

There was a hint of weariness in that smile.

Fu Luoyin stood up, took his hand, and pulled him closer, draping his coat over him before leading him home.

Lin Shuicheng appeared entirely normal, seemingly just tired or sleepy. He sat in the passenger seat, leaning his head to gaze out the window.

—He must have seen Xia Ran's photos.

Although Fu Luoyin had deleted the chat history later, what would Lin Shuicheng think?

Fu Luoyin felt that Lin Shuicheng might be upset with him.

In reality, Lin Shuicheng had never been truly angry with him. Those times when he seemed indifferent were more like a lover's coquettish behavior or softening, not genuine anger. There hadn't been a moment when he'd shown his claws, and Fu Luoyin was willing to indulge him. He couldn't picture how Lin Shuicheng would look when genuinely angry. This guy was so gentle and easy to tease that even his angry appearance was lovable, stirring his heartache.

Lin Shuicheng was an enigma. Sometimes, he overstepped boundaries and defied the rules a little lover should follow, rebelling against his actions and even failing to recognize his own position. Yet, at other times, Lin Shuicheng could be so adept at bottling up his emotions and hiding. Fu Luoyin found himself conflicted, unsure of his own standing in Lin Shuicheng's heart or where Lin Shuicheng placed himself in their relationship.

They returned to their usual residence. As Lin Shuicheng stepped into the elevator, Fu Luoyin immediately grabbed him and pulled him into an intense kiss.

Lin Shuicheng's steps faltered. Fu Luoyin's movements were too forceful, stirring the wound at the back of his head, causing dizziness – it was very uncomfortable. He pushed against Fu Luoyin and took a few steps back, only to be scooped up again – this time with his chin held firmly, forcing a response from him.

Lin Shuicheng pleaded, "Husband, I'm dizzy. Please let me go a bit."

Seeing Lin Shuicheng's pale face, Fu Luoyin realized he genuinely didn't feel well. He relaxed his grip on Lin Shuicheng, gently cradling the back of his neck and leaning down to tenderly kiss his eyebrows and eyes. "Did I hurt you?"

The elevator doors slowly opened, revealing a dark corridor. The sun had already set, casting a dusky blue hue between complete darkness and deep twilight. Half-carrying, half-assisting Lin Shuicheng, Fu Luoyin led him out with one hand clasping his, bending down to kiss him while the other unlocked the door. Both their breathing was hurried.

Fu Luoyin knew that Lin Shuicheng enjoyed this – the feeling of being completely dominated and monopolized. He liked being like a lazy cat, having everything taken care of by his owner. So, it didn't matter if he was rough – the more aggressive Fu Luoyin was, the wilder Lin Shuicheng became.

It had been a while since they'd engaged in such intimacy. Previously, Lin Shuicheng had been too busy, followed by Fu Luoyin. They barely saw each other every other day. It felt like ages since they last shared a bed.

Lin Shuicheng was very compliant, but he still felt dizzy and repeatedly asked Fu Luoyin to be gentler. Fu Luoyin's voice was low, wrapping around him like a warm embrace when it brushed past his ear. "Are you upset?"

Lin Shuicheng opened his eyes to look at him.

He didn't understand what Fu Luoyin was talking about but, out of habit, responded with a soft "Mm," sounding both obedient and sweet.

Fu Luoyin smiled. "Lin Shuicheng, do you think you have the right to be angry with me?" His voice was sharp.

Lin Shuicheng looked at him again.

After their passionate encounter, he only felt a surge of drowsiness, and had no energy to engage in the petty games of lovers' probing. He let out a soft sigh, turning over to go to sleep, but was pulled back by Fu Luoyin.

With a bit more force, Fu Luoyin held onto his wrist, causing it to turn slightly pale, yet his expression and tone softened. "You can, you have the right. But if you have something to say, say it. I don't like my people keeping things bottled up inside, like a mute gourd."

Lin Shuicheng continued to stare at him, still in a daze.

Fu Luoyin murmured softly, "Did you see his photo?"

Lin Shuicheng pondered for a moment before he recalled that Fu Luoyin was probably referring to the chat images they had deleted at the hospital that afternoon.

Indeed, he had seen it—not through intentional snooping, but because Fu Luoyin had switched away from their game of Landlord halfway through, and he himself was too lazy to move. He didn't care who Fu Luoyin was chatting with or what they were discussing; he had only a vague recollection that there was a very handsome young man in the photo, smiling brightly.

Lin Shuicheng responded, "Mm."

He closed his eyes, his voice carrying a distinct hint of sleepiness.

Fu Luoyin wouldn't let him sleep. "Aren't you quite capable, Lin Shuicheng? You used to cling onto me and get close to me so aggressively. Now you're afraid to ask?"

He embraced him, gently caressing his hair with a hint of intimacy. He felt that this person was like a wronged little kitten—also strikingly similar to a hungry commander-in-chief.

The commander-in-chief, as usual, followed them into the room, nestled in a corner, his emerald green eyes staring at them intently.

Lin Shuicheng replied, "I don't have."

Fu Luoyin fell silent for a moment before whispering, "...He's my ex-boyfriend."

Lin Shuicheng didn't respond.

With his eyes closed, he nestled against Fu Luoyin's chest, seemingly asleep or pretending to be. He looked pitifully vulnerable.

Seeing Lin Shuicheng's silent demeanor, something stirred in Fu Luoyin's heart—like a rippling lake evaporating into emptiness, leaving behind a warm mist that softened his very soul, dissolving his three souls and seven spirits.

He realized that Lin Shuicheng loved him like this.

Lin Shuicheng, without parents, had been striving alone while caring for his comatose brother. For such a person to love him, it was only reasonable for Fu Luoyin's heart to ache for him.

At times, Fu Luoyin couldn't help but think that having such a person by his side wasn't a bad thing.

Even if Lin Shuicheng were to remain constantly by his side, it... seemed not entirely unacceptable.

"I've completely severed ties with him. You don't need to overthink it. I deleted those records because I didn't want to see them," Fu Luoyin said in a low voice. "In the past... I didn't treat you well and didn't often come to visit. If you wish, we can continue like this. I've told everyone outside that you're my partner. Just stay at home and behave yourself, alright? Don't entertain unnecessary thoughts."

Author's Note:

-2: You really do like me

Lin Shuicheng: I'm not, I don't.